Obama’s Ambassador To Afghanistan: I Have ‘Grave Questions’ About Biden’s ‘Ability To Lead Our Nation’

Ryan Crocker was at the helm of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul under two different presidents — George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

According to the Spokane Spokesman-Review, Crocker reopened the embassy in 2002 after the invasion of Afghanistan. He’s won the Presidential Medal of Freedom and served as ambassador to six countries.

In an interview with the Spokesman-Review published on Sunday after the fall of Kabul, Crocker called the loss of Afghanistan “a self-inflicted wound” on President Joe Biden’s part and said he was “left with some grave questions in my mind” about the president’s ability to lead.

Crocker laid blame at the feet of the last two presidents but argued Biden’s decision to accelerate the withdrawal of troops precipitated the downfall of the country.

“I think the direction was predictable; the trajectory was not,” he said.

“What President Biden has done is to embrace the Afghan policy of President Trump, and this is the outcome.”

Former President Donald Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban in February 2020 to pull troops out of Afghanistan. In April, Biden announced a symbolic Sept. 11, 2021, deadline to have our men and women in uniform out of the country.

However, the Trump administration had worked toward a conditions-based withdrawal — a strategy the Biden administration abandoned.

“This is not conditions-based. The president has judged that a conditions-based approach … is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever,” a senior administration official told The Washington Post in April.